Te amo, Babe-side story: Letting her go
by JazMitch
Summary: Off-spin from Te amo, Babe...The men's POV as Steph leaves the warehouse. WARNING! ANGSTY! Read Te amo if you need a cheer up...chapter 9 posted!


**A/N: This one is dedicated to FinanceBabe! For all your diligent reviews, here is your one-shot, as requested!**

****This scene is from the other men's POVs as Steph leaves the warehouse. This is their POV as the mess is going down. WARNING! Angsty, as it is primarily about their pain at having to let her go through that. **

_**Letting her go**_

Hector POV

"I need to get going," Angelita announced in a small voice. My gut clenched in a familiar spike of warning. It was hell not to listen to my instincts and ever worse still was knowing that my Angelita was going to suffer because of it. I watched her leave and for once, I could not do anything to protect her.

If it was up to me, I would take Angelita far, far away for as long as it took to find all kill all the worthless pendejos who have ever thought of hurting her.

I came from a very different life to any of the other men at Rangeman. No doubt, some of them had it hard, but I was a hardened gang-banger. I was lethal, deadly, and lived by the maxim "Kill first, ask questions later." It was the reason I was still alive, but it had stained my hands a deep red.

I had given up that life when I started with Rangeman, but I found myself more than willing- almost looking forward to- going back to the man I used to be when the need arose to protect my Angelita. Never around her, no…I would sooner use one of my own knives on myself before I exposed her to that side of me. I would, however, take pleasure in hurting anyone who dared to cause her pain.

It was this part of me that growled unhappily inside me as she walked away, el jefe holding her close to him. I needed to let off some steam, and I think el jefe noticed this, because he sent me after the asshole who was stupid enough to plot against us. Within minutes, I was in front of Angelita's friend's house, and I saw the shooter positioned at the window facing the empty backyard and forest. It was perfect, since no-one could see him. I slipped stealthily toward him; being small in build, I can make my way anywhere undetected. Within seconds, I had subdued him and loaded him into the SUV, with Angelita's friend still none the wiser.

It was too easy; it had not taken off the edge I was feeling. I considered going to the gym to work some aggression off, but I would have probably scared some of the other men. Instead, I took the stairwell to el jefe's apartment and set up the speakers to the bugs he was planting. I knew it was working as soon as I heard her voice.

"It's okay, Ranger," she whispered, attempting to sound brave.

"Be careful, Babe, please…"

I had never heard the boss's voice like that before. Despite my earlier rage at him, I could see that he loved her, so I cemented my decision to let him live. Cal and him came tearing into the apartment not much later.

For the next hour, the small shreds of patience I had were tested to the very limit. From the first time I heard his hands connect with her skin, I was ready to tear out of the building and shred the skin from the very cop's useless body. I felt things inside me; desperation, pain, helplessness, fear; things I haven't felt in long years. I honestly wasn't sure how much I could take before I threw the plan to the fire and killed everybody who was involved in this idea.

The only thought running through my head was of her voice and her plea to us to refrain from interfering and putting her friends' lives in danger.

Rage crackled from my very fingertips. The first time since she left that I relaxed was when I heard her sweet voice whisper,

"Goodnight, Guys."

I used to be a gang-banger. I had seen things worse than anything that could come out of the devil's worst nightmares. But never before have I felt the pain and fear I felt when I had to let my Angelita go.

###

Ram POV

"I have to get going," Bombshell said in a small voice. My heart clenched as I watched her walk away; it felt as though I was suffocating because I knew we were letting her walk into danger, letting her walk into pain, and we were doing nothing about it. Some logical part of me knew that she had begged us not to, because it was in her nature to protect the people she loved, and that no matter what, we would have had to this anyway. Another, more stubborn part of me told me that I should have ignored her protests and cuffed her to the passenger seat of my Explorer, driven her to Newark and put her under house arrest with Paul and his wife. I fought the urge, just barely, as I was forced to watch her drive off with Ranger to her imminent pain. I reigned in my rapidly growing temper and went off with Hal to question Mary Lou Stankovich and Eddie Gazarra. Before we left Gazarra's house, my cell rang.

"Yo," I answered irritably.

"Have you guys found the asshole yet, little brother?" Paul's voice came over the phone in a menacing growl. "You better tell me when you do, because I told you I want a crack at him. You don't even need to tell me what he did; knowing that he hurt Honey is a good enough excuse for me."

"Not yet, bro," I told him. "But when we do, I'll ask the Bossman if you can come in. you'll have to get in line."

"She's dating your boss?" he demanded.

"Not really," I hedged. "It's complicated with them, but they love each other."

"Okay," he accepted. "Tell your boss he has to let me come because I need to have a talk with him too."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrow, wondering whether my brother would come out of that "talk" alive.

"Yeah," he said firmly. "Call you later, Bro."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and we were back at Rangeman soon enough. I went up to seven with Hal and Manny, ready to report to Ranger. When we got into the apartment, Hector, Cal and Ranger were sitting next to a speaker. The sound that met me made my stomach convulse.

"When I come home after a long day at work, I expect to be greeted properly," Morelli's slimy voice saturated the room. I heard her slight _mph _of fury, and I knew he had crushed his lips to hers. As if that wasn't enough to make me want his blood, the small whimper of pain that escaped her incited a homicidal rage inside me that was paralleled by none.

I used to be a Marine. I had seen things worse than anything that could come out of the devil's worst nightmares. But never before have I felt the pain and fear I felt when I had to let my Bombshell go.

###

Cal POV

"I have to get going," Angel announced shakily. I fought my instinct to stop her, knowing that this was hard for her and willing myself to remember that I shouldn't make this harder for her. My heart felt like it was on the point of shattering when she made us promise not to interfere prematurely. I hadn't thought about the fact that I would have to hear her getting beaten by him. My stomach churned as we watched her and Ranger drive off. Ranger hadn't assigned me a job but it went without saying; though it was unspoken, I would be monitoring the cop. I followed them to the cop's house and sat near it, stewing about this whole messed up situation. When I saw Morelli's SUV pull up, and I noticed Ranger wasn't hightailing it out of there yet, I knew they needed a few extra minutes. I knew just how to distract the cop without tipping him off to what we were doing. I got out of my SUV and walked up to him as he got off his.

"Morelli." I barked out. "We need to have us a little chat."

"I have nothing to say to you," he spat, trying to sound fierce even while his eyes were wide in terror.

_Yeah, you should be afraid, _I thought furiously, palms itching to take this SOB down. _Instead of picking on Angel, why don't you take on someone your own damn size?_

"I have something to say to you," I snarled instead. "You just need to shut the hell up and listen, Morelli." He gulped visibly and nodded weakly. What a panzy-ass. "You're marrying the woman I consider a little sister," I told him, my voice a low, dangerous drawl. "I love her more than life. You'd better treat her right, because if I ever find out that you've mistreated her in any way, I will hunt your sorry ass down and when I'm finished with you, there will not be any identifiable parts of your body. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can't threaten a cop!" he blustered, shaking slightly.

"Not a threat," I gave him a bone-chilling smile. "A promise."

He paled and dropped his keys. Over his shoulder, I saw the boss getting into his Turbo. I nodded once to Morelli and gave him another sinister smile, making my way back to the SUV. The Boss and I floored it back to Haywood and we both took the elevator up to seven.

"Thank you for holding him off," Bossman nodded at me in thanks, his voice gruff and uneven. I nodded, not needing the thanks.

We tore to his apartment and Hector was sitting there, stock-still, listening to the speakers he'd set up. It was silent for a few minutes, and I almost got worried, but then we heard the cop's voice. Guess he'd stayed outside for a bit to compose himself. I smiled grimly to myself. I heard Ram, Manny and Hal come in as the cop told her he expected a proper greeting. I saw red as I heard him force a kiss on her and her whimper of pain. I clenched my fists. I bolted up from my chair when I heard the slap, and I wasn't the only one. Hector had Death in his eyes, and Ranger's beast had never looked more formidable, not even in the most FUBAR missions.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" he hissed. My gut convulsed and I wondered if I had inadvertedly given something away. Tank walked in in time to hear her whimper his name in pain. His eyes blazed in fury. "You kissed him!" Morelli snarled. My anxiety relaxed, but my fists hadn't. Ranger looked like he was trying to swallow boulders. He looked sickened but infuriated as well. "You're nothing but a filthy whore," the cop spat, before we heard a sickening crash and Angel's scream of agony. I didn't realize I was at the door on my way out to the cop's until Tank set a grim, restraining arm across my torso. He was livid, but I could see he wasn't going to let us break the promise we made her. I forced myself back to my place and saw Hector, knives already in his hand and Ranger, fists clenched, not giving in to Tank as easily as I had. Ranger finally saw the reason and forced himself back as well. It took a fair deal longer for Hector to listen to reason, but after a minute or two, he shoved his knives back into his holster, cursing darkly in Spanish and probably planning torture methods to use on the cop in his head. I was with him all the way on that one; I couldn't wait to get my hands on him.

I used to be a Navy SEAL. I had seen things worse than anything that could come out of the devil's worst nightmares. But never before have I felt the pain and fear I felt when I had to let my Angel go.

###

Tank POV

"I have to leave," my Little Girl announced sadly. I steeled myself when she left, reminding myself of all the reasons I couldn't spirit her away to my parent's house in Paris where he would never find her. Trying to think about the mole instead of what I would soon be forced to witness, I began to try to figure out ways to sniff him out. I drove back to Rangeman and ran complex searches on all our men again. There were some men who might hold grudges against Ranger, but we had cleared them all for some reason before. Finally, I had enough of it and walked up to Ranger's apartment. I walked in to hear her cry of pain. My hackles rose and I used all my willpower to stop from walking back out and flooring it to his house to show him what happened when someone messed with my Little Girl. When she screamed out in pain, nausea built in me and I knew it was fair game. I had almost joined Ranger, Cal and Hector when they began walking to the door, but I remembered our promise to her. I forced myself to stop them, and although Hector looked ready to add me to his body pile, he seemed to reconsider after a long while. I breathed a sigh of relief, and somehow knew that the only thing that stopped him from taking me on was the fact that Little Girl would've been upset if I was dead. I forced myself to stay put as I listened to the rest of it. I was so proud of her for taking him on, but I felt sickened at every bit of pain that asshole caused her. I looked to my best friend; Ranger was torn, his face showing pride, pain, desperation and something I have never seen. Not even on the worst of missions.

I saw fear.

When he caught my eye, I sent him a nod to let him know that he wasn't alone in what he was going through. He nodded at me in thanks, and then his blank face came back firmly in place.

Santos and Brown walked in as she was standing up to him. I could see pride beaming through Les's face and Bobby looked a little relieved. I couldn't seem to rid myself of the sick feeling inside me at what he was doing to her.

I used to be an Army Ranger. I had seen things worse than anything that could come out of the devil's worst nightmares. But never before have I felt the pain and fear I felt when I had to let my Little Girl go.

###

Bobby POV

"I have to leave," Bomber said in a small voice, and my heart clenched. I felt uneasy and helpless, especially when she made us promise that we wouldn't interfere. I knew it was going to be exceptionally hard for us to listen to hear get hurt.

I was a medic; on principle, I didn't relish in causing anyone pain. Over the years, I've found that this principle was NOT extended to anyone who was dumb enough to cause Stephanie Plum pain.

The day I first healed Steph, was the day I began to find the man I used to be, before the darkness of war had tainted my soul. I grew to love her fiercely, taking her as the little sister I'd never had. I tried to protect her at all costs, and when I couldn't, I was glad to know I could heal her. My instincts, just like all the other guys', were to protect her at the cost of everything else. A huge part of me was tempted not to care about the civilians she was trying to protect; I wanted to keep _her _safe, to hell with the rest of them. I knew, though, that my Sweetheart would never agree to that, and she wouldn't want me to think like that.

I forced myself back to the task at hand. Hector brought the "assassin" in within minutes, and I wasn't surprised at the few bruises I found on him. We all knew that anyone who messed with Hector's Angelita, directly or indirectly, would answer to him first. Now, like I said, I never relished in causing people pain. This man was no different, but the trepidation was appeased by the fact that this would get us information. I couldn't ignore the fact that he was part of something that would have hurt my Sweetheart, so I wasn't very nauseated by my actions. When we found the mole…it would be fair game, and I knew I would be among the first in line.

When we got the information we needed from him, I knew Les had to force his Monster back down. We jogged up to Ranger's apartment and walked in in time to hear Steph's belligerent voice telling Morelli that she wasn't a whore. Pride swelled my chest; it was just like my Sweetheart to fight back. When we heard the knife being pulled on her, we were all ready to storm the place; it was the tiniest shred of control holding me back. Pain ravaged my heart as I was forced to hear what was going on. My poor Sweetheart…

I used to be a medic for the Army Rangers. I had seen things worse than anything that could come out of the devil's worst nightmares. But never before have I felt the pain and fear I felt when I had to let my Sweetheart go.


End file.
